Fashion manufacturers—which include manufacturers of footwear and accessories—saw the fourth biggest jump in sales revenue out of all the 12 manufacturing categories analysed. It also saw the second biggest rise in POs.
UK small and mid-sized firms saw their average sales jump by 128 per cent in Q3 2024, while the number of purchase orders placed with suppliers was also up by 123 per cent, according to a report from Unleashed.
Fashion manufacturers—which include manufacturers of footwear and accessories—saw the fourth biggest jump in sales revenue out of all the 12 manufacturing categories analysed.
Revenue and POs were both up by 88 per cent across the manufacturing sector—signalling high confidence among consumers, retailers and other businesses.
Clothing manufacturers are buying more inventory in anticipation of further orders as consumer confidence in Q3 2024 reached its highest level in five years rising to minus 7.9 per cent.
Social media is a big driver for sales with 42 per cent of consumers buying fashion goods through it in 2023. Instagram, Facebook and TikTok trends are also influencing fashion buyers.
The average number of purchase orders placed per quarter by UK manufacturers rose to 322 in Q3 2024, up from 171 in Q2 and 262 in Q3 of 2023.
Lead days—measured as the time between placing a purchase order and the goods being receipted into the destination warehouse–remain low in the UK, pointing to overall supply chain health.
“Firms are buying more inventory – and while this might bring back bad memories of post-Covid disruption, when manufacturers were forced to adopt a ‘just in case’ strategy – it’s actually a positive sign in the current climate. Lead times remain low, so the orders we currently see flowing through the supply chain look like genuinely robust business confidence,” said Joe Llewellyn, general manager of cloud ERP at The Access Group, the parent company of Unleashed.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)